pretty sure you're supposed to take the rubber dust boots off the front fork lowers when you run gaiters though they look a bit scrunched up the way you got em installed

adventureco - You are very right; I've been meaning to do just that for awhile now. I put the gaiters on thinking I would "just see how it looks real quick" but procrastination has gotten the best of me. I'll be using VHB to attach my flexible LED blinkers to the upper part of the shocks so I better get those dust caps off before I do that!

When I can't be in the garage physically working on the bike I've been spending time on the wiring and electronics side. I think I'm more or less done figuring out how to re-wire the thing. The wiring situation as the bike was received was a bit of a spaghetti bowl of old and new, with lots of those quick splice connectors and wire nuts. I decided that since I was upgrading the hand controls and all lighting to new units and I'm also integrating in a new multi-function digital gauge system (Koso DB-03R) that I would just start from scratch with all new wires and connectors.So, I just finished up making a new diagram integrating everything together again. Maybe this will help someone else in the future? Let me know if you catch something that doesn't look right!

I've been day-dreaming and trying out different paint options in my mind and on the computer for some time now. I think I've finally settled on a design I like, so I'll share with the community.

I put the tank and fenders on and did some "photoshopping" (actually more like "powerpointing") and came up with these two somewhat crude/quick renderings. I'm pretty excited about them, to be honest. The inspiration for the offset stripes have come from several other builders' rides on here. They give it a retro feel, while the "almond" pin-striping on the tank harks back to the original striping that the bike came with from the factory. Looking at the picture it still looks empty without the carbs, battery, and filters; and the bars need to come down a bit. Overall, though I'm pretty happy with it and more importantly I think I can handle it.

As this build has progressed since January, I've been honing in on the direction I want to take the build and I think now I have it pretty well defined: I'd like to make a GS450 Scrambler/Tracker version as if Suzuki tried to do a revival similar to what Ducati has done today with their modern Scrambler line-up.

Electronics are now working New wires, connectors, lithium battery, LED lights, digital gauge, LED blinker relay all seem to be working so far. First try, even!

I will have to wait until I can start the bike to verify that the new rec/reg and charging system are wired up correctly, but fingers are crossed. Would really hate to fry that new stuff. There is a 20 amp fuse I put in line as a little insurance.

Also, had time to finally get the new chain riveted on with the new tool I had bought. Things are starting come together much quicker as summer is fading fast and I'm eager to try this thing out!

Wondering if anyone can help here.... I'm in the process of re-building and re-jetting the carbs at the moment in between painting steps.

The problem I need help with is finding a new throttle butterfly end cap. See the attached picture. It looks like one of the many previous owners tried to drill out and remove the EPA cap that sealed off the mixture screw, but rather than drilling the mixture cap they started drilling the butterfly cap. If there was a "forehead slap" emoticon I'd use that about now. I thought I'd have more luck finding one but I'm coming up blank. Anyone have any ideas?

Glad you like that gauge - It's pretty awesome. It can learn gear position and I've got a cylinder head temp. sensor feeding into it. Since I've messed with the wheels and diameters it gives me a lot flexibility. It's pretty compact which was my biggest draw. I've mounted it with a modified aluminum cell phone mount which worked out great.

And you are correct, I got that tail light from DCC. You can find it a fair bit cheaper elsewhere but I like to support the U.S. retailers.